Quilting

It's been such a long time since I've posted. Life has just gotten so hectic lately that it's been hard focusing on one thing at a time....which is what I really have to do if I expect to get through it all with my sanity intact. So I've been quilting. Lots and lots of quilting. In fact, I've hit the point to where I'm now making quilts just to quilt.....as strange as that sounds. The one pictured above was made with leftover pieces and fabric from my "Winter Fun" quilt. I needed something to practice my machine quilting on and didn't want to pull out one of my "good" tops. :.) So the quilt pictured was born. Quilted it up and was rather pleased with the results.....then decided that I needed another quilt to practice on. So a second quilt was born from leftover pieces and scraps. In fact, I had so much leftover pieces and scrap fabric that not only did I end up with a small quilt top, but I also ended up with a pieced backing to go with. This one is still on the basting table waiting for me to baste it so it can be quilted. That's when life stepped in with all of it chaotic uncertainties.

So then I turned to spinning. It was something I could squeeze in between this and that. Currently I have a Shetland/Bamboo/Nylon blend on my Sonata. This is destined to be sock yarn and then.....eventually.....made into socks for my loving hubby. On my Country Spinner is the last of my second Karakul fleece. It was spun from the lock into a lovely bulky weight yarn. Just need to ply it and set the twist.....then it will be ready for use. I'm thinking a felted puppy will be the perfect project for this latest skein....especially as it has such lovely coloration to it. On two of the bobbins for the Sonata is a Shetland/Mohair/Soy Silk blend that is waiting to be wound into center pull balls and then plied into a lovely sock yarn. This will have to be done soon as I only have the one remaining bobbin for the Sonata and it is in the process of being filled with the Shetland/Bamboo/Nylon blend. The Prelude did have this wonderful roving from the Sheep Shed Studio on it. That spun up into a very lovely aran weight yarn which I will be using to knit up a cabled hat for my loving hubby. I still have about 8 ounces of the roving left. This will be spun into a little heavier yarn for matching mittens.....also for my loving hubby. And on the needles is the back part of an aran sweater for my miniature schnauzer. The yarn I'm using is a Jacob/Mohair blend that I spun up eons ago. I will have to post a picture of it. It is turning out rather nicely.....and this is my first attempt at tackling multiple cables in the same project. My previous attempt with cables was a bulky sweater with one single fat cable running up the center front. I gave that to a friend who simpy adores it.

For those wondering what has been going on that has made my life so crazy lately......well......my youngest was injured during a wrestling match. She (yes, she.....and this will be her fourth year of wrestling) has a rotator cuff injury (among other things). This means many runs to the doctor and physical therapist (twice a week) and it also means the end of her wrestling season.....which she has dealt with very nicely.

My father was due to have surgery earlier this week for a complication from his heart surgery a couple of months ago. The surgery didn't happen because it was deemed unsafe. It was discovered that the artery in his right leg has a blockage of some sort. So he is now scheduled to have a second surgery in a week to hopefully fix whatever is going on. His doctor says that he is far enough post heart surgery that this surgery won't be any problem for him....which is good news. It just means that he will have a bit of a stay in the hospital (about 3 days).....which means a lot of driving and some very long days for me. My mother doesn't drive in town.....and can be more than a person should have to handle when things like this happen. Just makes you want to pull your hair out and bang your head against a wall at times. Doesn't help any that my father, who is incredibly stubborn to begin with, will start getting even more stubborn when my mother is at her "best". So whoever is lucky enough to be with them has to be the "responsible adult" and pacifier.....which is not always the easiest thing in the world to do. The things we do for the people we love.......

Finally, my oldest called me yesterday to say that she has to go back in for more testing next week. Her pap came back and is showing signs of cervical cancer (and she isn't even twenty yet). I told her not to worry and that everything will be just fine. Things were caught early and chances are this will be taken care of very quickly. I also told her that we are there for her. When my loving hubby talked to her later he said that she sounded much better....which makes me very happy. It's so hard to be the strong one when all you want to do is cry because your child is sick. But you have to....especially for your child. They expect you to be. And that's a hard thing to do at times. So I tend to do most of my crying in the shower these days. It's the only place where I can give in to my emotions and be weak.